This invention relates to a housing in an electrical connector, and more particularly the housing provided with a rear holder which can prevent the rearward withdrawal movement of a terminal in a housing passage by sharing the retention of the terminal with conventional retainers, and which is characterized by its easy and steady operation and by its efficiencies for sensing incomplete insertion of the terminal into the housing passage.
In general, an electrical connector comprises an electrically insulated housing having a plurality of passages, each of which is to accommodate a terminal therein and provided with a resilient retainer, the terminal being engageable with the retainer upon the insertion of terminal into the passage. However, it has been often found that when a lead connected to the terminal is pulled rearwardly, the retainer is subjected to damages and the terminal is withdrawn rearwardly from the passage. In order to prevent this, a device was proposed such as seen in Japanese preliminary patent publication No. 57-52715.
Such a device is illustrated in FIG. 4, an explanatory perspective view, wherein a flap d with a plurality of projections c, each having a face f, is connected to the housing a by a hinge e. Each of the projections c faces a respective hollow b provided in an upper wall of the housing a and by virtue of the hinge e the flap d may be closed over the hollows b, if desired. When the flap is closed, its projections c abut against the terminals, whereby the terminals are prevented from rearward withdrawal movements, in addition to the retention thereof by the retainers.
However, since the closing and opening movement of such device is relied upon resiliency given by the hinge e of a short length, a large bending motion of about 90.degree. of the flap d which extends from the housing a vertically at a right angle, and a locking force given on the flap d in the direction of insertion of the terminals, the hinge e shall noticeably be weakened upon a repetition of closing and opening operations and be shorn off sometimes. Since the vertically standing flap is pressed from its back as mentioned above, it is not so easy to close it whereby operation efficiency becomes low. And, since an excessive force is apt to be applied on the flap inherently to its structure, the terminals would be damaged when they are not completely inserted into passages.